Recently, travelers, businessmen, skiers, golfers, tennis players and other sprotsmen have become increasingly aware of the benefits of a whirlpool bath in which water is agitated to create an invigorating whirlpool motion. The swirling waters of a whirlpool bath are believed by many to calm frayed nerves, ease the pain of aching muscles, and sooth sore feet.
In recognition of the increasing popularity of whirlpool baths, many motels, hotels, and inns are installing in-room whirlpool baths in an effort to gain a competitive edge. However, in order to be profitable, and therefore result in a true competitive edge, such whirlpool baths must be simple to install, operate and service.
Some known whirlpool baths, such as the one disclosed in Jacuzzi U.S. Pat. No. 3,571,820, include a number of jet assemblies spaced around the outer periphery of a bathtub for agitating water in the bathtub. In these known whirlpool baths, water and air supply piping systems, including several pieces of pipe joined together by elbows and T-fittings, are used to supply each of the jet assemblies with water and air, respectively. The installation of the elbows and T-fittings increases construction time and costs, in terms of both materials and labor. The elbows and T-fittings also complicate repairs and replacement.
Evenston U.S. Pat. No. 3,263,678 discloses a therapeutic bathtub having a plurality of aspirating fittings designed specifically to diffuse finely divided air bubbles throughout the water in the bathtub. Thus, the aspirating fittings perform a function, i.e., the diffusion of finely divided bubbles, which is different from and may be performed in addition to the conventional function of providing agitated water to produce a whirlpool bath. Nevertheless, the aspirator fittings are supplied water and air from a piping network in which several individual pieces of pipe are interconnected by elbows and T-fittings.
Efforts have been made to avoid the problems and disadvantages resulting from the use of elbows and T-fittings in whirlpool systems. For instance, in Mathis U.S. Pat. No. 3,890,656, there is disclosed a whirlpool jet for bathtubs which purportedly eliminates the use of T-fittings by making all water and air pipe connections directly to a corresponding water jet outlet. However, because the water jet outlets described and claimed in the Mathis patent are actually T-fittings, which have been designed to perform a jetting function, the water jet outlets of each pair of adjacent outlets are connected by separate pieces of water and air supply pipes. The provision of several pieces of pipe not only complicates installation, thereby increasing initial construction time and costs, but also complicates repairs and replacements resulting in increased maintenance costs. Furthermore, inasmuch as the individual outlets are parmanently cemented to the water and air supply pipes, the outlets are totally incapable of quick and easy on-site removal independently of the water and air supply pipes for inspection, cleaning and replacement purposes.